Standoff At Midnight Mountain. Mary Alford
a long time. When their relationship had turned serious, her desire for a normal life seemed to have doubled. Five years ago, Alex couldn’t imagine life without the adrenaline rush of the CIA...and so he’d lost her.
“There’s a driveway coming up on your right. Turn in there.” Rachel’s voice interrupted his chaotic thoughts. She didn’t look at him, and he wondered if she’d read his thoughts.
He spotted the driveway in question and exited onto a dirt road as dust boiled up in the headlights.
In front of them, an old farmhouse appeared at the end of the drive some distance from the county road.
“Whose place is this?” Alex asked as he stopped the car.
She didn’t answer right away and he turned to her, curious.
“This was my husband’s family home. He grew up here and I promised him I’d hold on to it after he passed away.”
Shocked, Alex couldn’t even begin to hide his surprise from her. Nothing prepared him for hearing that Rachel was now a widow. He glanced down at her left ring finger. She still wore her wedding ring. How long had her husband been gone?
Alex looked from her to the simple white house with its pale gray shutters barely distinguishable in the car’s headlights. Something akin to jealousy seared his heart. He hated thinking of her loving another man.
Liam had told him she’d gotten married a few years after she’d moved back to Midnight Mountain some five years earlier. After that, well, Alex had just stopped checking in with his friend for a while because it was too painful.
Which was why the envelope he’d received from Liam days before Rachel’s call had been so concerning. He had no idea what Liam was trying to convey. It contained ramblings about things they’d done in their childhood and some of the places they’d explored growing up. He assumed Liam had written the letter at a low point. There was no sense in telling Rachel about it and alarming her further.
Alex realized Rachel was staring at him as if she expected him to say something. He pulled himself together and cleared his throat. “I’m sorry. I had no idea your husband had passed away.” She continued to stare at him with those telling blue eyes. The look in them now reminded him of when he’d told her he wasn’t leaving the CIA with her.
Was she expecting him to be jealous that she’d gotten married? If so, then she should be happy. She had no idea how hard he’d taken the news of her wedding.
“Thank you,” she murmured, and looked away. While a thousand questions flew through his head, he could tell she wasn’t ready to discuss any of them with him. “We should probably put the car away and get inside. It’s possible that whoever attacked us will connect this place with me.” She stopped for a breath. “There’s an old garage behind the house. We can hide the car in there.”
Once they’d stowed the rental car in the rickety old garage that was a little ways from the house, Alex grabbed his gear and followed her while the dog sniffed around the yard for a bit then went after them, keeping close to Rachel.
Rachel flipped on the lights, illuminating the drop cloths that covered most of the furniture inside the home.
“Sorry for the mess,” she told him. “It’s just easier to keep clean this way. The place has sat empty for several years now. Brian’s family raised workhorses up here for many years. I still keep a few pastured out back because he loved working with them so much. There’s a neighbor who stops by each day to care for them.”
He managed an awkward nod and dropped his backpack by the door. “I’ll take a quick look around just to be safe.” He could see she hadn’t considered the possibility that the place might not be secure. She’d been away from the spy game too long.
She shook her head and smiled at him for the first time since their reunion. It stopped him dead in his tracks. “I never even considered someone might have already been here.”
He loved her smile. He’d almost forgotten just how beautiful she was, especially when she smiled. She wore her golden brown hair longer now. She’d braided it and it hung halfway down her back, the overhead light catching the gold highlights. Dressed in a plaid shirt, jeans and cowboy boots, she reminded him of the young girl he’d fallen for all those years ago. Only her midnight blue eyes held a hint of the things she’d endured. There was a sadness in them that appeared embedded there.
Alex collected his straying thoughts. “Not looking over your shoulder all the time sounds like a good thing. I’ll be right back.” He excused himself and went upstairs, grateful for the chance to get control of his emotions. He thought he’d left Midnight Mountain behind for good when he went away to college, yet so many of his childhood memories were tied to this place. And to this woman...
After he finished checking the upstairs rooms, he was more ready to join her again. At the foot of the stairs, he noticed that the dog had settled down close to Rachel’s feet.
“There’s no sign anyone’s been up there in a while...” He stopped when he noticed her staring strangely at the desk in the corner of the room. “What is it?”
Rachel visibly shivered. “Even though it’s a half hour drive from my home, I still come here every couple of days to make sure the place is okay. I’m pretty sure that drawer was closed when I was here yesterday.”
He stared at the desk and then at her. “Someone’s been here.” He stated the obvious. “What was in there?”
She shook her head. “That’s just it. Nothing was in there. There isn’t anything of value here besides the horses.”
“But they weren’t looking for something valuable.” Their gazes locked and a new fear entangled him in its clutches. “Whoever was here was looking for something connected to Liam.”
No doubt the people behind Liam’s disappearance had known about his connection to Rachel all along, including this house.
“You said you keep horses on the property?” Alex’s thoughts snarled together. What she’d told him about Liam was disturbing. That Liam had left her the location where he was scheduled to meet his asset seemed to indicate he had been concerned something might happen to him up there.
“That’s right. Why?” she asked innocently enough.
“Because they may be our only way out of here.” Alex glanced out the front window at the breaking dawn. They’d need to keep moving. Get up on the mountain as soon as possible.
“The stalls are behind the house a little ways down near the south pasture.”
“Good. Then we should probably head out. Are you ready for this?” She didn’t hesitate. Rachel had been one of the best agents he’d had the pleasure of working with. She might be a little rusty, but she was more than capable.
If something had happened to Liam, each day that passed whittled away at his chances of survival. Rachel said she’d had no word from her brother in more than a week. As a former CIA agent herself, she would know that it was common practice for agents to carry burner phones as a means of communicating without being tracked. If Liam hadn’t reached out to her by now, then something bad was wrong.
It bothered Alex that Liam seemed worried about something. It wasn’t like his friend to show fear, but from Rachel’s account, he’d definitely been concerned when he showed up at her place. He had told her he was close to bringing down a new player in the terror field. He’d mentioned something similar the last time he and Alex had talked.
Did Liam’s disappearance have anything to do with what he’d uncovered about the terrorist threat? If so, then whomever he was chasing seemed determined to silence anyone who got in their way or attempted to uncover their identity.
As he and Rachel headed out into the new day dawning, with Callie at their heels, Alex could almost feel her uneasiness growing.
He touched her arm and she slowed her steps and faced him. “We’ll find